Published 6:00 pm, Sunday, January 10, 2010

Lee’s victory against Midland High in the third place game of the Byron Johnston Holiday Classic in December didn’t have much significance in the grand scheme of things.

The Rebels and Bulldogs weren’t playing for the tournament title like they had the year before and it didn’t give Lee an advantage in the District 2-5A standings. The Rebels’ 77-70 victory did confirm the belief that Lee was the stronger team, but it also hinted that the Bulldogs may not be as far behind the Rebels as first thought.

“We took them lightly at the beginning of the Byron Johnston,” said Lee’s Teviin Morris, who scored 17 points in the game. “We didn’t think they were going to come out and give us a game like that, but they did. You have to respect the way they played and come out prepared.”

Lee (12-5, 7-0) will play host to MHS (9-10, 4-3) at 7:30 p.m. today at Chaparral Center, and this time it counts. This time there won’t be any secrets between the two teams, either. Lee knows what it’s up against in a revamped Midland High team, and the Bulldogs have the assurance they can compete with the Rebels.

“A lot of people underrated us, but I think they’re a great team and we’re a great team,” said MHS’ Phil Merchant, who scored 14 points against Lee last month. “I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s going to happen.”

Midland High got off to a fast start in its meeting with Lee, taking a 14-9 lead into the second quarter. It’s a trend that has held for most of the season for the Bulldogs, in particular the last month as they’ve piled up victories.

The only problem was, MHS was outscored by 13 points over the next two quarters and a 25-point fourth quarter wasn’t enough to make up the difference. To make sure that doesn’t happen again, MHS coach Trey Watts has put even more emphasis on rebounding, defense and staying out of foul trouble.

“We gained a little confidence from the games we’ve played,” Watts said. “We’ve played some tough competition and we’re on a four-game district winning streak. Of course, Lee’s on a seven-game district winning streak. We just have to play confident. It’s going to be a game of runs and we can’t hang our head too low when they make a run.”

As for the Rebels, they weren’t sure what the Bulldogs were capable of in their first meeting. All Lee really knew was the MHS team they saw last season was gone, and in its place was Antwan Goodley, Ray McKim and a bunch of players without a lick of varsity experience.

Now they know that, in addition to Goodley’s abilities, McKim, Merchant and T.J. Brown can all shoot inside and out, Kendall Ringo is a force inside, and Mercedes Lane’s quickness can only be seen to believe.

“They’re real athletic and their big guy, Ringo, gave us problems,” Lee coach Mark Coffman said. “We still haven’t guarded Goodley. We have a hard time staying in front of him. And they have some pretty good shooters on the perimeter. With their style of play, you have to get used to it after a while. They’re going to come after you and be aggressive, so you just have to answer it the same way.”

Of course, the Rebels are no slouches themselves. Malcolm Miller is averaging 21.3 points and 13.7 rebounds a game in district play while Morris is averaging 20.4 points and 7.1 assists. While a go-to third scorer hasn’t stepped up for Lee just yet, they’ve managed to have at least one role player step up every game in district.

But the Bulldogs have already shown they won’t be intimidated by numbers. Merchant said the Bulldogs’ attitude is to surprise everyone but themselves, and Watts expects his team to carry that mentality into today’s game.

“These kids play each other so much in the summer, they’re very familiar with each other,” Watts said. “There’s no star-struck element towards Malcolm, Teviin or Lee. Lee and Midland High have battled for so long, no matter what the records are, you can throw that stuff out.”